We have good news and bad news. Curbside diners from Clark Park to Center City will be sad to hear that Honest Tom is retiring his taco truck. The good news is that an entrepreneur eager to get into the food truck game will get the colorful 1970 Chevy step van, one of the most vaunted food trucks in the city,  free of charge.

“Honest” Tom McCusker, who in December climbed out of the truck and into his new shop on 44th Street, is giving the truck away for a story.

“It runs like an old workhorse but definitely has its quirks,” said McCusker, who says he bought the truck off a man named Derek with credit card cash advances from “multiple credit cards.”

Here’s a post from his Facebook page that spells out the deal:

For those that have inquired or anyone else it may concern:

We have been trying to get the truck back into regular rotation for months now, but with the shop schedule being as demanding as it is we have realized that it is not going to be possible. So we’ve come up with a plan…

As good as the truck has been to us we’ve decided it cannot be burdened with a monetary value. We will be gifting it to a noble up and comer looking to dive into the dark scary world of food trucking. Email honesttoms – at – gmail.com with why you should be the chosen one and we will make a decision on monday the 9th of july,meaning emails must be in that Sunday by midnight.

So get your e-mail to Tom by midnight on July 8.

OK, stop. Before you read any further go check out the video below.

Done?

Cool right? That piece is by West Philly artist Nilé Livingston and is part of the “Baltimore Avenue Series,” which she will show on Monday, June 25th at The Gold Standard Café (4800 Baltimore Ave.) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Livingston describes the exhibit as:

“Biographic interpretations of growing up in West Philadelphia have inspired me to explore endless character encounters. I sketch my ideas on paper and then collage them in Photoshop. Creating art is my relentless urge to explore sources of anxiety, document interactions, share memories, as well as provide evidence for narrative works that address social, environmental, and technological changes.”

You can read more about Nilé at her website.

The Porch, the outdoor space at 30th Street Station, is adding a few new things for the summer.

The University City District (UCD) recently received a $375,000 grant from ArtPlace to fund a permanent art piece at The Porch. Prema Katari Gupta, UCD’s Director of Planning and Economic Development said: “We will invite exceptional artists to engage creatively with our site, with our audience, and within our neighborhood context. Art will bring beauty, reflection, and delight to The Porch, as the site continues its evolution.”

One new fun activity to look out for at The Porch is a free nine hole mini golf course open every day in July from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. All you need to bring is a photo ID. A second new project is the opening of a beer garden with German and craft beers, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and Italian sausage sandwiches by Bridgewater’s Pub. The beer garden will include live music and is open July 12 (4-8pm), July 13 (noon-8pm), and July 14 (noon-5pm).

The Porch will exhibit two new visual art works. The first is a representational and experiential exhibit by Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto. She is installing a Hakoniwa, Japanese for miniature garden as well as a form of psychotherapy called “sandplay therapy.” The therapy method involves subjects who order and design items within a sandbox. Nami’s art will recreate this form of therapy across the concrete of the porch.

Also, Justin Duerr’s Anaesthasia Emeralda Lucian piano, designed for UCD’s Heart and Soul piano project will be on display and ready for play at The Porch.

– Erica Kimmel

Popular summer after-work happy hour and entertainment destination, PM @ Penn Museum Summer Nights series returns this Wednesday, June 20, at 5 p.m. Summer Nights features weekly international music performances at the lush garden setting at Penn Museum (3260 South Street). It is also a good opportunity to visit the museum. Tickets are only $5 and include museum admission.

The series kicks off with a performance by Barakka, a Philadelphia-based group with Turkish roots. Barakka will present Middle Eastern folk and rock fusion sounds.

All Summer Nights performances take place in the Penn Museum’s Stoner Courtyard and occur rain or shine. Food and drinks are available for purchase at the venue. The series will run until August 29. For more information, go here.

Check out the full performance lineup (from www.penn.museum).

June 20 – Barakka
The series kicks off with this Philadelphia-based, multi-ethnic group specializing in Turkish folk-rock with a mix of eastern and western instrumentation including guitar, oud, drums, bass, darbuka, and keyboards. www.myspace.com/bariskaya

June 27 – Tres Compadres
This modern flamenco ensemble combines jazz and Latin influences with spirited dance rhythms for a vibrant live performance, with special appearances from flamenco dancer Inez del Mar, vocalist Farah Siraj, and jazz flutist Tim Shay. www.trescompadresband.com

July 11 – Zydeco-A-Go-Go
With Creole Zydeco and Cajun 2steps, this group combines funky New Orleans rhythm and blues and vintage Louisiana rock and roll into a spicy gumbo of irresistible dance music. www.wix.com/petegumbo/zaggwood

July 18 – Klingon Klez
Prepare for warp drive! This eclectic band plays good old-fashioned, heartwarming, rompin’, stompin’ fun-for-the-whole-family klezmer/funk fusion from other planets! www.klingonklezmer.com

July 25 – Magdaliz and Her Trio Crisol
This Latin ensemble is dedicated to the interpretation of folk and traditional music from all over Latin America and the Caribbean, using Puerto Rican boleros, Cuban sones, Mexican mariachi music, Colombian cumbias, Dominican merengues, and much more. www.triocrisol.com

August 1 – Incendio
A Latin world fusion group from Los Angeles, Incendio balances romantic Spanish guitar with rock-style energy and inspired on-stage improvisation. www.incendioband.com

August 8 – Minas
Presenting originals from their CD collection, as well as Brazilian classics, this duo displays multiple talents as vocalists, instrumentalists, and composers with an impressive grasp of awide range of Brazilian musical idioms. www.minasmusic.com

August 15 – La Pequeña Marimba Internacional
This family band focuses on Guatemalan folk music, but also include a smattering of international music like cumbria, merengue, bolero and more.

August 22 – Animus
This internationally acclaimed ensemble, led by Bill Koutsouros, offers an exciting fusion of ancient and modern music with traditional elements of Greek, Rock, Middle Eastern, Blues, Indian, Jazz, African, and more. www.animusmusic.com

August 29 – West Philadelphia Orchestra
An eclectic ensemble made up of Philly’s finest and wildest musicians, this group gets listeners moving with the poignant melodies and the frenetic, propulsive rhythms of Eastern Europe. www.westphiladelphiaorchestra.com

You know that bike that has been locked to street sign near your house for what seems like years? The City wants to know about it.

On July 23 the City is planning a “clean sweep” of abandoned bikes.

Here’s a notice from the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities:

The Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) and the Philadelphia Streets Department need your help to identify all of the abandoned bikes in the city in preparation for an Abandoned Bike Clean-Up project.  On July 23^rd,the Streets department will be conducting a clean sweep of abandoned bicycles. 

Removing abandoned bicycles from city streets helps bicyclists by making bicycle parking easier to find and it helps non-bicyclists by clearing-out scarce sidewalk space.  Abandoned bikes are those that have missing or damaged parts, are in un-useable condition, and have been locked in the same location for one month or more.  These bikes will be tagged with notification for removal by the city one week before the scheduled removal.  All of the bicycles that are removed during the sweep will be donated to local charities for refurbishment.

You can report an abandoned bike by calling the City’s 311 hotline. You will need to know the location of the bicycle, what the bike is locked to and any distinguishing features including color, broken or missing parts or any “unique identifiers.”

 
Public art pianos placed on corners, parks and pedestrian plazas from 30th Street Station to Clark Park were met with smiles, stares and intrigued musicians during their debut today.

The University City District is overseeing the project, which is entitled Heart and Soul and is similar in spirit to public piano project in several cities worldwide that combine visual and performance art.

“Hey, how’d you get that piano here?” one passerby asked a man playing the piano placed in the central plaza area of Clark Park, the piano that is farthest West.

Anyone can play the eight pianos until this project ends on June 17. They were transformed into works of art by local artists and placed at high-traffic pedestrian areas today. A list of the locations and bios of the artists are available here. See more photos below.